I'm a San Francisco-based video producer and write about the marijuana industry. I watch for trends in the fledgling industry and track issues in policy, investment and technology. I've worked at a number of outlets including Reuters, Newsweek/Daily Beast and CBS. Proudly call myself an Army veteran, a Southerner and Columbia School of Journalism graduate. Other areas of interest are drones, tech and national security. Contact me on Twitter @JMHall_ or if you’re the more antiquated type: jhall /at/ forbes // com.

Crude and Camp, Why Dowd's Portrait of the Cannabis Industry is All Wrong

Cannabis has an image problem. Beginning before the anti-marijuana morality tale Reefer Madness first made its rounds on the exploitation film circuit, throughout the counter-culture ’60s and the “I learned it by watching you” War on Drugs ’80s & ’90s eras, marijuana and those associated with it were commonly portrayed as different or strange, sometimes funny and sometimes dangerous.

Coming out of a long cultural and legislative battle toward a moment of full legalization, cannabis has come into its own as a plant with redeemable medicinal properties, accepted recreational uses, and profitable business opportunities. Yet it carries the baggage of eighty years of built up social bias. Cannabis is still illegal on the federal level and thirty states. Many employers and athletics teams test for it, with repercussions should the test come up positive. Patients, consumers, advocates and entrepreneurs have a long way until they no longer endure the stoner variant of W.C. Fields rather than responsible, productive and reasonable people.

Enter mainstream marijuana coverage to save the day? Don’t hang your hat so soon. Maureen Dowd’s Sunday New York Times column “Now Playing: Reefer Gladness” commemorated the opening excitement surrounding Colorado’s first weeks of legal, recreational cannabis. Despite an attempt to argue for the arrival of wide acceptance for marijuana by people who are “eager to help Denver elude the stigma of Rocky Mountain Low, a shadowy place overrun by “The Dude Abides” hippies and Jeff Spicoli stoners,” Dowd chose a cast of characters who, while full of color, do little to paint marijuana entrepreneurs in a positive light.

Take Dale Dyke and Chastity Osborn, the proprietors of a “textile-optional bed-and-breakfast”, who were featured prominently in a almost-nude jacuzzi photoshoot. Being a nudist isn’t a problem by itself, but paired with together with an industry trying to shake an seedy image of confused, stalled-adolescent stoners calls into question the argument for normality. Why not a marijuana-friendly bed-and-breakfast with clothing mandatory? It’s unlikely owners of yoga retreats or technology-free getaways want the face of their business to be nudist versions of those businesses, much less one “still waiting for their first big booking.”

One entrepreneur in the piece told the Times she didn’t want to be identified and chose a “nomme de pot” of Jane West. For an industry putting its best business face forward, hiding behind fake names makes for good copy but doesn’t imbue confidence. It only speaks to the dissidence created by a cultural stigma and quasi-legal status.

Meanwhile in Las Vegas, a group of investors (in suits!) including venture capitalists, former senators and state assemblypeople, as well as bankers and investment firm members met to discuss the changes facing cannabis industry and hold Shark Tank-style pitches with hopeful entrepreneurs (also in suits). Organized by ArcView InvestorInvestor Network, the 150-person meeting marked the largest gathering of marijuana investors yet.

AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

Most of these businesses are seeing boom-times, such as Colorado-based Medicine Man which is building a larger retail presence in Denver to accommodate consumer demand.

“People are expanding their facilities as fast as they can”, and as more markets open up, said ArcView’s CEO Troy Dayton,”We are entering the golden age of cannabis investing. This is just the beginning.” Dayton said the cannabis investor crowd applauded when the news came in Attorney General Eric Holder said he wanted new banking rules for the industry.

Wall Street has taken notice but the time and place for tie-dye and Grateful Dead bears is over. Though some may bemoan the loss, investors will be glad to see the old tropes put to bed.

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